RoLo

I boated a couple 4 pounders this afternoon (oddly, both weighed exactly 3-15) then finished the day with a 6-10 (23") for a state score of '38'. Though I've got the weight trend moving in the right direction, I'll need a double-digit bass to stay in the race against the BR hotshots. Roger

One 10-pound bluefish can drag a stringer of 10-lb bass to their death. Then again, if we battled tidal currents all our life, we could stay abreast of Michael Phelps Roger

I'll drink to that. Furthermore, you can't take the manufacturer's word for the actual weight of a jig (or the actual length of a worm). The other day I weighed an All-Terrain Grassmaster Jig marked "3/8 oz" that weighed 270 grains on my powder scale. Hence, a 5/8 oz jig masquerading as a 3/8 oz jig...LOL Roger

The fact that tuna lack a swim bladder tells us a lot about the species. Unlike bass which change depth slowly and very infrequently, tuna need the ability to change depth often and quickly without waiting for bladder readjustment. It's true that if a tuna stops swimming it will sink very slowly to its neutral depth (where it weighs the same as water). but tuna have a far more important reason to swim constantly. Tuna are in the mackerel family, which are jokingly referred to as Horse Mackerel in Jersey's Hudson Canyon. Fish in the mackerel family cannot breath unless they're moving forward, and as soon as forward motion stops the fish begins to suffocate. As bluefin and yellowfin tuna are pumped closer to the boat, they swim in smaller and smaller circles which makes gaffing pretty tricky. Once plopped on the deck however, they die promptly of asphyxia. We used tinker mackerel for tuna bait, which required a 'round' livewell to keep them alive. The corners in a 'square' livewell interrupt circuitous nonstop swimming, which shortens their life in a livewell. Whether you're fishing in freshwater or saltwater, bird behavior makes a very strong case for game fish behavior. Cormorants, anhingas and grebes are diving birds that indicate the presence of forage, ospreys indicate the presence of superficial baitfish and coots indicate the presence of vegetation. Gulls and Terns however are water surface scavengers that rely entirely on feeding game fish, whether they're bass or tuna. When gulls and terns are working, you can bet the ranch that game fish are actively feeding and driving baitfish to the surface. Watching bird behavior ranks right up there with watching shoreline topography and watching your depth sounder. Roger

You Might Be Californian - IF: - You can’t remember if pot is legal - A good parking spot moves you to tears - You attend a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor - You’re surprised when 2 people on a bus are speaking English - You net over $150,000 but have trouble making ends meet - Your kid's teacher has purple hair, a nose ring and his name is 'Flower' - You can’t remember if pot is legal Roger

Roger

YIPES! I hope he's not driving

"Let the bass tell you what they want" is an oversimplification and a well-worn cliche. There will plenty of days when the bass will tell you nothing, days when there's no substitute for knowledge. Tapping into past experience (memory & recall) allows the angler to experiment more effectively instead of casting for the next couple hours in the hope of input from bass that aren't talking. "Pattern Fishing" was an expression coined in the 1960s by Roland Martin, but patterning isn't limited to objects and contour, but is limited only by your powers of observation and ingenuity. A covert pattern is the 'mudline' pattern while a very common one is the 'running water' pattern. Other patterns may be disclosed by watching the shoreline for changes in substrate or vegetation. Patterning begins with species, waterbody & season, but on-the-water it gets a lot more intimate where current weather conditions come into play and all the elements of delivery such as Depth, Speed, Action, Shape, Size ~ ~ No one said it was easy Roger

Though I've never personally quarantined fish to augment my catch, it is not a wife's tale. It has been substantiated that one bass can affect school behavior. One bass can emit a positive pheromone that triggers a feeding frenzy, and one bass under stress can emit a negative pheromone that shuts down the school. Roger

DARN...I was just about to say 11-4

Yes. Generally speaking, the hottest zone of a submergent weedbed is the open corridor and caverns immediately beneath the plant canopy. Ironically, the plant crown is its own worst enemy, which acts like an umbrella that prevents ample sunlight from reaching the lower reaches of the bed. As a result the foliage gets sparser with depth, and near the lake floor the plant stalks are usually naked. According to Hoyle, active bass hover in the weedbed just beneath the plant canopy, while inactive bass tend to settle to the bottom. In any case, since bass spend most of their lives in a passive disposition, it's wise to strive for bottom contact during every punch. Roger

Like A-Jay, I only need 1 good bite, but always hope for "3" good bites. That way, I can blow 2 of them but still put grandma in the boat Roger

You've got a lot of good advice above, but I'd like to add one thing that might sound like a curve ball, but really isn't. The deep weedline (plant life visible only on sonar) marks the depth at which plant growth begins to fail. As a result, the plant growth along the outer weedline is typically sparse. But as you move shallower and closer to topped-out vegetation, the plant density and plant shade both become heavier. In our experience at least, a greater number of bass will be found along the outer weedline, but the biggest bass will often be found 'shallower' within the same weedbed. If you're targeting the biggest bass, you might want to try mat-punching the heaviest hydrilla, the stuff that most anglers pass-by or hit only sparingly. For punching you'll need 3/4 to 1-1/2 oz, depending on plant density. Roger

Well put Roger

She's just a young startup, but I figure the mossback camp needs a little support. She taped 22", weighed 5lb-4oz and has a state score of only '30.4'. Not to worry, we're counting on the big gals to rock-the-house in May Roger

My condolences Kent on the loss of your best friend and fishing buddy. You've always spoke highly of Speedy and I applaud you in celebrating his memory. Roger

Most animals are highly adaptable, and those that are less flexible often pay a high price.. Two examples of inflexible animals are the ivory-billed woodpecker which is most likely extinct, and the spotted owl which is facing extinction. The survival of these two species is linked to primary forests (primeval stands), which have mostly been replaced by secondary forests. In stark contrast, the pileated woodpecker and barred owl have acclimated well to secondary forests and their numbers and range continue to burgeon. If there's 'one' thing we all learned about bass is that they're a highly flexible species with an uncanny ability to acclimatize. As dictated by conditions, bass quickly adapt to inshore habitats, offshore habitats, lowland reservoirs & canyon impoundments. They will relate to weeds, wood, rocks and manmade structures, and they're able to cut a living in perennially muddy waters with a secchi depth measured in inches (no one can explain how they pull it off). I'm convinced that the reduced biomass of trophy bass in Castaic and Casitas is in direct proportion to the reduction in the forage base, and has nothing to do with an inability to adjust. Never forget, these same bass already made the adjustment from their natural shallow-water niche to an offshore habitat in order to dine on pelagic forage. For these same bass to switch back to their inborn shallow-water environment would as easy as falling off a log, but the real problem lies in the fact that the punch bowl was taken away (i.e. trout). Roger

In saltwater, line-test is generally determined by the fish species (snapper blues to giant tuna), but line-test for freshwater fishing is chiefly determined by the 'cover' you're dealing with. Since we fish weedy natural lakes in Florida, most of my outfits are spooled with 30-lb Berkley Trilene Braid. I started out using 20-lb braid, but found that 30-lb braid (which is only 0.002" thicker) totally eliminated line-burrowing and sharply reduced wind-knots. For mat-punching & frogging I'm spooled with 50-lb Trilene braid (hate losing 1-1/2 oz tungsten sinkers). For playing with wacky worms, shaky heads and such, I'll use 15-lb Power Pro (Trilene braid isn't available in 15-lb test) Roger

Tom, would you agree that the disappearance of trout concomitantly translated to a meaningful reduction in the forage base? In any ecosystem, the population of predators at the top of the food chain moves lockstep with the forage base at the bottom of the chain. As an Example: During the last several years, ospreys have been enjoying a population explosion in Florida. As you know, ospreys are strictly piscivorous, and today you can find one or more breeding pairs at every pothole. On one hand, I'm happy to see them flourishing so well, but on the other hand I'm concerned about their future. Even before it happens, I already know that when Florida undergoes the next severe drought, the osprey population will experience a severe die-back, it's the law of 'natural balance'. Roger

After you've just finished wolfing down a 12-oz New York Strip, you might not be thrilled by the sight of another steak dinner. Every angler has witnessed fasting bass that refuse to eat, but this has little or nothing to do with starvation. Provided suitable food is available, no healthy fish is going to die of starvation unless of course it's inflicted with a terminal illness, be it physical or physiological. Roger.

A 'long' cast is any cast that overshoots your target. Roger

Thanks John, I wasn't aware of that. Roger

Batteries for the electric motor seem to last indefinitely (some last longer than the boat...LOL) I normally buy Interstate batteries, but I believe that operating practices have more to do with battery life than battery brand. My electric motor is used mainly for the Spot Lock, so I rarely exceed 25% depth of discharge (DOD), then at day's end I always bring the charge back to 100%. Do that with any brand battery it will likely last 5 years or more. Roger

I really can't answer that question. I don't measure my casting distance in 'yards', but by the number of 'minutes' to splashdown. Roger

The survival instinct would prevent any healthy animal from fasting until death. The only animal that stops eating is one that's morbidly ill, to the point of no return. Roger